Shenandoah trout fishing this season

[johnfarr]

How much more time is left in the season for the Shenandoahs? Still haven't fished there but want to make my first trip this season, possibly next week. I know that the heat causes things to shut down early there.

[Kevin Huntington]

If you're fishing the park, as long as water levels aren't extremely low, you can fish all summer.  The water is normally pretty cold even in the summer.  When all the stocked/delayed harvest waters are fished out or too warm, I hit the spring creeks and the park.  Always safe bets for trout all summer long.

[Horace Williams]

How quick do the water levels come back to normal after a big rain storm? I was hoping to go up to one of the mountain streams this weekend but I'm not sure what to expect after all the rain in the past few days.

[Carl Z.]

I've been told that the fishing is good right after the rains let up.  The gradient is so steep that it clears out quick but you might have to change your tactics as the water may be stained.

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[Matt S.]

If you're heading out to fish SNP streams for brookies on a day you're worried about high water, consider driving and parking along Skyline drive, and hiking down to the headwater area of nice creeks (of which there are hundreds), instead of fishing up from the bottom in otherwise awesome stretches. The streams naturally are less flooded up there and clear up even quicker. A lot of trails are well marked and some not so much; I'd bring a map/compass or GPS to avoid getting turned around if you're really going to go "blue lining" in the woods. But you don't need to bushwhack to find nice little streams there. I'm sure Park service would help and I highly recommend Harry Murray's book, Trout Fishing in the Shenandoah National Park. It's a classic and has lots of good recommendations. I wish I was going with you! Tight lines. Matt

[Matt S.]

One caveat/correction: there may not be "hundreds" of steams, I haven't counted them and it probably depends on what one considers a named stream and it's tributaries. But if you look at a topo map and consider that each draw has a bit of water at the bottom, there are lots. USPS publishes a list I think of fishable ones. Many of them ain't much, just little trickles of water and pools in the hollows on the east and west slopes. But many hold itty bitty brookies descended from other itty-bitty brookies going back probably thousands of years. Which is kind of neat I think.